Konnorith

A Land Torn Asunder

Griffon Diplomacy

Session 3, part 1

4

AUG/10

After recovering a cryptic note from a Griffon boss, the adventurers are pointed towards the eastern slums, where Snakebite is rumored to be setting up shop. Wandering in that direction, they encounter two masked men who approach from a shady alleyway.

“Who are you?” they demand. “More Griffon thugs? This is Wyvern’s Sting territory…I suggest you leave.”

The party members look at each other, then decide to show the note to the masked guards. They look it over, speaking in hushed tones to each other. “Wait here,” one of them orders before disappearing into the alleyway for several minutes. He eventually returns, saying nothing but “Come with us,” and striding into the darkness again. The party is led through a series of twisting alleyways until the guards enter a nondescript side door into a small building. Further inside, they proceed into a small office, where Snakebite is seated.

“Well now, if it isn’t our friends from the the Imyur!” he says happily. “What can I do for you?”

“Right. It’s very…interesting. I hear you want the Black Hammer to help you get out of the city. I can help. But you’ll have to help us one more time. I need more information on the Griffons. We captured a patrol of thugs yesterday snooping around in our territory. They were…persuaded, and now we know where their boss is hiding out. He should be completely unprotected. Find him, and learn everything you can about Ian Pegason and where he commands the Griffons from. Bring that information to me, and we’ll talk.”

The party agrees, following Snakebite’s directions to the Griffon hideout. It’s a warehouse filled with dozens upon dozens of crates filled with assorted weapons, armor, and general supplies. After busting the front door down,Damathus and Amorion search the crates for useful items, while the others move through the warehouse to a hall in the back. They move forward until the hallway splits into two paths. Gorgalac takes one way, while Andreus and Papalonius take the other.

The paladin and ranger follow their path to a large iron door at the end of the hall. The ranger slowly turns the handle and stealthily opens the door, and promptly recieves a crossbow bolt to the gut. The Griffon boss had heard them smashing through the front door, and prepared according. He was a human, crouching behind an overturned table for cover and fumbling to reload his crossbow. Andreus charged.

Meanwhile, Gorgalac walked through the alternate route with all the caution befitting a half-orc, singing a simple tune to himself along the way. Suddenly, he felt a slight twang beneath him, at his feet. He saw the broken tripwire just as the floor beneath him gave out, dropping him into a 20-foot deep pit. Trapped and rather badly hurt, he resumed singing.

Andreus chopped a portion of the Griffon boss’s cover clean off, while Papalonius treataed him to an arrow in the thigh. The boss backed into a corner, panicked.

“Drop your weapon,” commanded Andreus. The crossbow was dropped before he even finished speaking.

After hesitating, Tarmikos gave in. “Fine…Ian sends out updates to us bosses from a Griffon base about fifteen minutes south of here. It’s hidden beneath a weapons shop, called the Board & Blade, as a front. As far as I know, he’s in there right now.”

The two adventurers decide that they’re done with Tarmikos, leaving him with a promise that if they saw him again, they wouldn’t be so merciful. They pocketed a few papers and maps from the pile of parchment on the floor, for good measure, then left to find the others. Upon regrouping with the mages, they realized that Gorgalac was still missing. They found him in the pit, waiting idly for them. After hauling him out with rope (which took considerable effort from the four of them), they returned to Snakebite’s hideout.

“This is great news,” the boss of the Wyvern’s Sting told them. “This is the information we need to rid this city of the Griffons. If they lose Pegason and their base of operations, we’ll have the slums back under control in weeks.”

“The Griffons are strong,” warned Papalonius. “I took these papers from the boss we interrogated. They’re very well fortified. Maybe you should ask the Black Hammers for assistance.”

Snakebite took the documents. “You’re right,” he said, sounding dismayed. “I may not respect Ogranak and his gang, but at least they follow some misguided sense of honor. The Griffons…they aren’t like that. They’d burn this whole city to the ground if there was a silver piece in it for them. They have to be stopped. I’ll send some people to share this information with Ogranak. Hopefully, we can mount a joint attack by tomorrow.”

The party agreed, and were given rooms to rest up before assault. Tomorrow would be a busy day.